This year, in the days before Christmas, Alaska may be the best place to view the brightest winter stars. The Aurora Borealis aka the Northern Lights are prominent. And on December 21st a fiery Alaska meteor flashed across the skies over Anchorage. It was moving north to south until it crashed outside the city.
This meteor probably originated from the Ursid meteor shower, which started on Dec. 17 and will peak on December 22nd through Christmas Eve.
The American Meteor Society reported that the meteor was seen by dozens of people at around 5:45 a.m., local time.
Space.com explains that the annual Ursids are actually pieces of debris from comet 8P/Tuttle. This is typically a low-intensity shower. And is a little more visible this year since it coincides with the new moon.
Video images captured a very bright light that lit up yards, and roads.
Pretty decent aurora for Anchorage last night. pic.twitter.com/feUF6nsnZw
— Brian Brettschneider (@Climatologist49) December 24, 2022
Fiery Alaska meteor captured on video
“I have seen meteor showers in the past, and this was unlike anything I’d ever seen in the night sky,” one woman reported.
